ROCKFORD - A new-look Auburn team beat Hononegah 61-45 Wednesday in the semifinals of the Class 4A Boylan Regional.

And it wasn't just Auburn's first state ranking (No. 10) of the season or Antoine Porter's facemask to protect a broken nose after he "caught an elbow" in Friday's NIC-10 championship game.

"I can't stand it. It's horrible," Pittman said. "I had a couple of mishaps in the first half. I see things a lot differently with it. I have to learn to focus and play like it's not there."

The biggest part of Auburn's new look was Zayvious Hoover and Nylek Cobb scoring 15 points apiece off the bench to lead the Knights (25-5). Hoover, normally a 3-point specialist, scored nine of his points inside, including a pair of alley-oop layups and an old-fashioned three-point play. And Cobb played just his third game after being ineligible most of the season.

"I was just excited. I was ready to be part of the team again," Cobb said. "I always knew the role I had to play on this team. We've got a lot of scorers, but we all have to fit in and play as a team."

Hononegah shot 58 percent (18-for-31) and often flustered Auburn with its defense. The Knights shot 40 percent (22-for-55) and took more 3-point shots (31) than two-pointers (24).

"We tried to get the ball inside, but they played a great 2-3 zone," Auburn guard Laytwan Porter said.

But Auburn forced 24 Hononegah turnovers to only eight for the Knights.

"Turnovers played a huge part, but their defense forced a lot of it," said Ryan Sughroue (13 points), who teamed with Jake Wilson (17) to provide most of the offense for Hononegah (16-13). "They definitely play harder defense than anyone in the league."

In the second quarter, Auburn scored its four baskets off of steals.

"It's a huge deal when you score off their turnovers," Pittman (11 points) said. "When everybody steps up and does their part, when everybody plays together as a team, we can go real far."

That's what happened last week when Auburn beat Boylan by 30 points. Now Boylan gets a rematch on its home floor Friday. How much will the Titans be gunning for the Knights?

"A lot," Pittman said. "They should.

"We played well tonight, probably about an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. But we have to have a 10 Friday to come out with a victory again."